I am not sure who this question should be addressed to, but I am hoping to get clarification about a statement within the Information for Psychologists About Responding to Complaints document from the NSBEP website. I am seeking clarification about point number 9, which states that it is not appropriate for a psychologist to contact the complainant once a formal complain has been launched. However, if a client stated that they were going to make a complaint, is it ethical/appropriate for a psychologist to have any further communication once that threat has been made? It would seem that accusations and threats would really compromise the psychologists’ ability to be objective, and unobjective communication could cause harm.
I would really appreciate some guidance on this. I am aware that I should not be consulting with NSBEP about particulars of a case once I suspect a complaint might be made, but I thought that this was more a general question about the proper procedure for handling this situation, so I thought it was worth a try.
That requirement would apply if NSRP received a formal complaint against the psychologist, In such a case we would provide notification to the psychologist so that they would be aware of the existence of a complaint. We would not be able to provide any additional guidance beyond this clarification.
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor & Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor down here with a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. I am currently applying to become a Counselor in Nova Scotia, after which I intend to follow my Forensic Psychologist fiance, already in Bedford. I am very interested in understanding what I need to do to meet the qualification of R-Psych. Although I have looked over the FAQ for becoming an R-Psych, I have some questions to clarify whether I meet the qualifications.
I understand I will have to take the EPPP, of course, but my practicum appears to have been a little under 200 hours short of what is required by Canadian standards. However, post-graduation I worked under direct supervision of two Clinical Psychologists for 3 years with around 35 face-to-face patient hours per week, adding up to roughly 4,725 hours of immediately post-graduation, directly supervised experience alone, so I am wondering if that will suffice.
I believe my training meets the five core competency areas, but I want to be sure. Would it be possible to send an electronic copy of my unofficial transcript/course descriptions to see if they would qualify? In getting licensed in Canada as a counselor, I have taken the ethics courses that they don’t exactly require in America (its rolled up into other courses, but never explicitly its own specified class), but if I need to take any more classes, I’d rather know now and get started.
These are my biggest questions at this time. Thank you for your time and any help you can provide.
Typically, in your scenario, where you are licensed as a counselor, we would refer you to the NS College of Counselling Therapists since they may have an efficient route to meeting registration requirements in your circumstances. While the Core Competencies in Psychology are a required component of registration with NSRP, it is not solely a […]
I have a question I would like some clarification on as I have had a few different responses when consulting with other psychologists.
We currently have a colleague who has completed their training at MSVU in the School Psychology program and is confirmed to graduate in the fall. They are also in the midst of applying to be on the candidate register. While they are waiting to get on the candidate registrar are they only permitted to complete psycho-educational assessments, as an educational assessor, and have them signed off on by a registered psychologist and consult with school about educational difficulties OR are they also permitted to conduct behavioral observations and Functional Behaviour Assessments under the supervision of a registered psychologist? For example, could they observe the student in class and then discuss with a psychologists about the observations and the function of the behaviour and possible recommendations and then after speaking with the psychologist they could make the recommendations to the school/family. All of this of course would be done with proper informed consent.
I just wanted to clarify as I was under the impression they could only do psych-ed assessments until they were on the register. Others have said they are able to do all duties of the school psychologist under supervision while waiting to get on the register.
I have consulted on your enquiry. The additional circumstances you have outlined would not be problematic, given the work would be done under the supervision of a psychologist and clients are informed of the arrangements (of course the individual would be careful not to identify as a psychologist until they are registered with NSRP). The […]
I am very interested in applying to MSVU’s MA in School Psychology. I understand that this program allows graduates to eventually become licensed in Nova Scotia as a registered Psychologist. I was speaking with someone who is currently a psychologist and she had mentioned that if someone graduated from this program and eventually left the school system to practice as a licensed psychologist, they would be limited to working with children as that is the focus of the program.
Is this correct? While I would be very happy to work with children, she wasn’t overly confident in the limitation and suggested I refer to the board.
Could you please explain the limitations of the qualification?
The focus of the program from MSVU is in school psychology, and consequently, it would allow one to practice in the area of school psychology. Generally the practice of school psychology involves working with children and adolescents, but it may involve adults at times. If you were a school psychologist, you could expand to carry […]
My husband has completed his practica and almost completed his one year internship. Does he also need to complete a year (or two) of supervised practice? Also, does he need to write Board exams?
To answer your question, your husband would apply to NSRP as an entry level applicant. https://www.ns-rp.ca/applicants/those-not-registered-as-psychologist-elsewhere/nWhile the Regulated Health Professions Act and the Psychology Regulations requires 2 years of supervision, there is a clause so that the NSRP can provide full credit for the internship year, so the individual should only have to complete one […]
I have an inquiry as a parent who is looking for psychology services for my 8 year old daughter.
Is there an accepted best practice for psychologists when assessing a child when the parents are separated/divorced, the parents have joint custody, and when there has been spousal abuse of any kind? Specifically with respect to whether it is standard practice for the psychologist to meet with the separated/divorced parents and the child separately or together, and whether having one intake form between the two parents is expected or whether each parent fills out their own form separately for the psychologist to review? I am wondering if there are best practices from a trauma-informed perspective that ensure safety and least escalation of conflict or abuse for the parent who has been or continues to be subject to abuse and the child when seeking psychological services.
Thank you for your email. NSBEP has general ethics and standards in place to guide psychologists. Though not an exhaustive list, below are some publications from NSBEP that you may find helpful to review; these integrate relevant standards and principles. Working with Children and Adolescents https://www.ns-rp.ca/downloads/Working_with_Children_and_Adolescents.pdf nCustody & Access Guidelines https://www.ns-rp.ca/downloads/NSBEPCustodyandAccessGuidelines.pdf nThese documents are not restricted to […]
I followed the instructions for the Learning Plan that you referenced in the Supervision Handbook. Can you confirm that there is no standard form for this process? So far, I wrote the information in a letter format with Part 1, 2, and 3 highlighted as indicated in the instructions. If you could please confirm, that would be helpful.
There is no specific form. As long as she follows the guidance in the Supervision Handbook that will be fine.
